When women run: explaining the emergence of women state legislative candidates

Abstract

ABSTRACT Since 2016, the number of women running for office has dramatically increased. Although much of the congressional research has demonstrated that women candidates do not face significant disadvantages, other more recent work shows that women often face different challenges and advantages based on their race and ethnicity. We examine the factors that influence how the political and institutional context shapes the emergence of female candidates for state legislative seats using an intersectional framework. By exploring these dynamics at the state level, we leverage significant variability in the institutional and political environments to understand how institutions may shape the emergence of a more diverse pool of candidates. Our findings underscore the importance of district demographics in shaping the pool of candidates from diverse backgrounds. Institutional and electoral features play a role as well, yet this varies across different racial and ethnic groups.